DrFarid Tariq
Visiting Researcher
Department of Earth Science & Engineering - Faculty of Engineering
- Visiting ResearcherDepartment of Earth Science & Engineering - Faculty of Engineering
- 020 7594 5124 (Work)
- B321, Royal School of Mines, South Kensington Campus, United Kingdom
RESEARCH
Overview
Interests involve:
Microscopy of structures (length scales cm to nm)
4D Time-resolved Imaging
In-operando Imaging (Radiography & tomography)
Multiscale and Multiphysical Modelling of structure-property relationships in materials (mechanical, fluid, thermal and electrochemical)
Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials
Additional details
Energy and sotrage Devices
Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) and Batteries (Li, Si, Metal-Air):
High temperature SOFCs operating at ~1000oC are typically composed of NiY8SZ anodes, seperators and LSM/LSCF cathodes.
Intermediate Temperature SOFCs operating ~500oC such as those produced by Ceres Power Plc. are of particular interest based on CGO and YSZ electrodes.
Micro-Nano scale variations in their structure can impact fuel cell performance. Other areas include effects of production, aging, cracking, cycling, poisoning, feedstocks, etc. may have on chaging structure.
Batteries, particularly Lithium Ion Batteries (LIB) are state-of-the-art for power & specific energy density and used in a massive range of devices. Therefore understanding thermal, electrochemical, mechanical stresses, etc. inside their electrodes is critical to improving them. Electrodes are typically C-based or LiCoO2 based. Production methods, aging, cycling, c-rates. all as well as novel geometries and other battery chemistries are all of interest.
Porous Materials
A huge number of materials depend on porosity to function effectively. In some cases porosity can also be undesirable. The understanding of porosity and the ability to control as well as tailor it at mico/nano structural levels is important for fuel cells, batteries, catalysts, bioengineering, etc.
Catalysts/Zeolites used in Hydrocracking Petroleum
Conventional fuels used for powering cars and electricity generation may be produced more effeciently. This can be achieved in part through the use of catalysts and zeolites. Their structures range from pellet bed level to angstrom level beyond the capacity of any single imaging technique. A multiscale tomographic approach was therefore developed and employed to directly image their structures.
Defect Detection in Advanced Gas Turbines and Jet Engines
Advanced Gas Turbines are used to generate electricity nearing ~60% thermal efficiency typically at 50Hz running off natural gas sources. Similarly, Jet Engines utilise different fuels but the same concept for powering aircraft. Aging causes microstructural segregations and defect formations inside blades. This becomes increasingly important for high temperature turbine blades. The presence of defects causes a drop in engine performance and failure to locate them in adequate time could cause catastropic failure. At a minimum, this often means power plants/aircraft cannot work while defective blades are found or replaced.
Grid Level Energy
Optimising grid level power generation through e.g.large scale advanced gas turbines (left: GT26, image credit:Alstom) and energy storage (e.g. through flow batteries or LIB mentioned previously) is critical in balancing energy requirements between periods of excess energy and periods of excessive demands. This is likely to become increasingly important in the future due to increasing energy demands, and use of alternative energy sources.
Interests involve:
Microscopy of structures (length scales cm to nm)
4D Time-resolved Imaging
In-operando Imaging (Radiography & tomography)
Multiscale and Multiphysical Modelling of structure-property relationships in materials (mechanical, fluid, thermal and electrochemical)
Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials
Additional details
Energy and sotrage Devices
Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) and Batteries (Li, Si, Metal-Air):
High temperature SOFCs operating at ~1000oC are typically composed of NiY8SZ anodes, seperators and LSM/LSCF cathodes.
Intermediate Temperature SOFCs operating ~500oC such as those produced by Ceres Power Plc. are of particular interest based on CGO and YSZ electrodes.
Micro-Nano scale variations in their structure can impact fuel cell performance. Other areas include effects of production, aging, cracking, cycling, poisoning, feedstocks, etc. may have on chaging structure.
Batteries, particularly Lithium Ion Batteries (LIB) are state-of-the-art for power & specific energy density and used in a massive range of devices. Therefore understanding thermal, electrochemical, mechanical stresses, etc. inside their electrodes is critical to improving them. Electrodes are typically C-based or LiCoO2 based. Production methods, aging, cycling, c-rates. all as well as novel geometries and other battery chemistries are all of interest.
Porous Materials
A huge number of materials depend on porosity to function effectively. In some cases porosity can also be undesirable. The understanding of porosity and the ability to control as well as tailor it at mico/nano structural levels is important for fuel cells, batteries, catalysts, bioengineering, etc.
Catalysts/Zeolites used in Hydrocracking Petroleum
Conventional fuels used for powering cars and electricity generation may be produced more effeciently. This can be achieved in part through the use of catalysts and zeolites. Their structures range from pellet bed level to angstrom level beyond the capacity of any single imaging technique. A multiscale tomographic approach was therefore developed and employed to directly image their structures.
Defect Detection in Advanced Gas Turbines and Jet Engines
Advanced Gas Turbines are used to generate electricity nearing ~60% thermal efficiency typically at 50Hz running off natural gas sources. Similarly, Jet Engines utilise different fuels but the same concept for powering aircraft. Aging causes microstructural segregations and defect formations inside blades. This becomes increasingly important for high temperature turbine blades. The presence of defects causes a drop in engine performance and failure to locate them in adequate time could cause catastropic failure. At a minimum, this often means power plants/aircraft cannot work while defective blades are found or replaced.
Grid Level Energy
Optimising grid level power generation through e.g.large scale advanced gas turbines (left: GT26, image credit:Alstom) and energy storage (e.g. through flow batteries or LIB mentioned previously) is critical in balancing energy requirements between periods of excess energy and periods of excessive demands. This is likely to become increasingly important in the future due to increasing energy demands, and use of alternative energy sources.